When I arrived at Ocean Beach Park, New London, at around a quarter to two, men in matching leather vests ushered me through the parking lot’s chain fence. It was a sticky Sunday afternoon in mid-April that threatened rain, but made you wet with humidity instead. I hadn’t originally planned a beach trip when I left the house to run errands. I even briefly thought that I might feel out of place in dark jeans and combat boots. But as I pulled into the New London Motorcycle Club’s 2019 Bike Blessing, I realized that there were over eight hundred Connecticut bikers dressed in the same fashion.
Entering on foot among a procession of motorcycles, I attracted attention from one of the gatekeepers who approached me with an extended hand. He invited me in with a gracious welcome to the NLMC’s 14th annual Bike Blessing. In the reflection of his padded chopper sunglasses I watched myself hesitate before asking, “Sir, what is this event?”
“Bike Blessing,” he responded. “Bikes come, bikes get blessed by priest, bikes go.”
“Oh, I get it,” I replied, certain that I did not.
Gates to the NLMC’s fourteenth annual Bike Blessing opened at 11 am. Cars had been designated to the far left of Ocean Beach Parking lot, separated from the congregation of motorcycles by a restricted path indicated by traffic cones. Four middle-aged men were elevated on a small stage and played classic rock. Bikers, biker enthusiasts, and members of the community crowded the parking lot, perusing tables of silver skull rings and high abrasion grade leather gloves. The Blessing’s participants varied. As I meandered through Harleys, Triumphs, and Kawasaki’s, I saw bikers adorned in patches on their jackets and sporting thick white beards and black choppers. I also saw families taking pictures.
The priest was Father Matthew. He was dressed in a cassock decorated with a red stole. He also added to his outfit a pair of silver chopper sunglasses and a metal cross that hung down to his belly from a gold chain around his neck. Standing at the end of the path he was guarded by NLMC members holding American flags. With the roar of eight hundred motorcycles, I watched as bikers made their way past the priest and were whacked in the head with a large pine tree branch dipped in Holy Water as Father Matthew yelled The Sign of the Cross repeatedly over the sound of the engines.
“Father Matthew loves doing it,” Dan Dunn, the President of the New London Motorcycle Club informed me at the NLMC clubhouse located only ten minutes from Connecticut College. Boarded by woods on either side, a long dirt path leads to a clearing with a wooden building and a parking lot for public motorcycle lessons every Monday night. Established in 1939 by Ralph and Ruth Strong, the NLMC is the second oldest motorcycle club in the state of Connecticut and includes five chapters in the surrounding area. Donated by the Stack Family of New London, the land is surrounded by a residential neighborhood and the Waterford Country school. “The motorcycle club has been around so long that we’ve been established, and we are well known in the state because of our positive participation,” Dan explained when I asked about the club’s presence in the community. “Plus,” he included, “We’ve never had one noise complaint while I’ve been president.”
Dan gave me a brief tour of the property including the club’s meeting room which he said was designed and constructed by club members. He then gave me an organized breakdown of the club’s eleven elected positions which include the president, senior vice president, secretary treasurer, etc. Even the club’s group rides are organized affairs with road guard captains always in the lead. Pictures decorate the walls, commemorating the club’s passed members and their charity events. Requirements to join the club include ownership of a motorcycle (scooters are not welcome), a state endorsed motorcycle license, and attendance at at least six club events.
Dan has been the Club President since 2016 and seems both easygoing and stern — possibly the best combination for the President of a motorcycle club. He shared that Bike Blessings are standard events across the country. What he described as the “unofficial kickoff to riding season” is intended to “ward off the bad juju and be safe for the rest of the year.” Superstition seems to be a recurring theme in motorcycle culture, but Dan’s real interest lies in philanthropy. The proceeds generated from the NLMC’s annual Bike Blessing go to the Covenant shelter of New London and the Waterford Country School. The club is also involved with the Wounded Warrior Project, the Baby’s Heart Run in Groton, Wreaths Across America, and Rolling Thunder, an annual demonstration in Washington D.C. for POWs. In May the club will even be honored by the Covenant Shelter for their generosity.
“There’s no freer feeling than being on a motorcycle,” Dan explained, when I asked what it is about motorcycles that bring so many people together. The stereotype of outlaw bikers, Dan explained, makes up only one percent of the motorcycle population and what really attracts members to join is the camaraderie and brotherhood of the club. Memory and commitment inform the club’s ideals and it’s also one of the only clubs that allows women to participate as members. If your only form of education on motorcycle culture is Sons of Anarchy, I’m here to tell you that there is a much more realistic depiction in New London, that includes laminated business cards encouraging members to “Ride Safe, Ride Often, Ride with Us” in Lucida Blackletter font. •
